The best place to start looking for your answer is your product’s support site. Searching for an answer from ibm.com’s home page usually returns much too broad of a result set, so getting as close to your product as possible will vastly increase your success

Once you are at your product’s support site, using the “task navigator” will take you to specific pages just for that product – such as “downloads”, “documentation”, “forums & community” or “install”. More good news: Searching from these pages will focus your search to just that product’s content!

You can also use the IBM Software Support Toolbar to search from anywhere on the web, and narrow your results to only the locations you want to see.

And while you're at it, try the new IBM Support Portal for a new way in locating your valuable support information. View the Portal Demo Videos for even more tips on using the new support portal!

What has the IBM Education Assistant program (IEA) team been up to recently, I hear you ask? We have continued the momentum building over the year and have deployed 50 new modules in the first three quarters of 2009! From this, we are also seeing an increase in usage for Rational IEA modules, telling us you are finding value in these, and that you want more!

So what, exactly, have we done for you? Well, just take a look at some of the newIEA modules we've published in Q3:

Testing

Rational Functional Tester – 5 Viewlets on RFT/Flex Configuration:

Setting up the environmentConfiguring the Flex Application with RFTCompile time enablementRuntime enablementRuntime Loader generation

ClearQuest

Recording an installation on Clearquest for Linux Recording an uninstallation on Clearquest for Linux Recording an installation on Clearquest for Windows

ClearCase

Installing ClearCase on Linux using the Installation Manager How to record and invoke a response file for silent installation How to record the uninstallation and how to invoke the uninstallation silently Editing silent response files for IBM Installation Manager The basics-Developing with ClearCase using UCM

To find (and view) any one of the above modules, you can click here. This link will show you all the published IEA modules for Rational products.

Of course there is always room for us to improve, and we are always looking for more content for IEA modules to help you! If there is a topic you'd like to see covered, leave a comment and let us know, we'd love to hear from you!

Starting October 19, IBM Rational will distribute activation kits using the IBM Rational License Key Center. For example, Rational Jazz-based products such as Rational Team Concert and Rational Quality Manager customers will now go to the License Key Center to get their product activation kits instead of IBM Passport Advantage.

This change is being made to provide a consistent method for IBM Rational customers to obtain and manage their license keys and activation kits.

Rational Client Support and development have created some great content to help our customers be successful with our products.

Please take a look at our IBM Education Assistant modules - multimedia educational modules designed to help you gain a better understanding of IBM software products and use them more effectively to meet your business needs.

The
IBM Support Portal combines all support resources for all IBM
software, hardware, and services. Over time, it will replace the
different support sites currently on ibm.com and become the single
site for all IBM technical support. And you can now click to try the
new portal from any Rational Support product support page on ibm.com.

To
start with the portal, select the products you are interested in and
then view resources and information about them. You can change up
your product list at any time, and the list is saved between your
sessions. If you log in, you can also rearrange the portlets on the
pages to suit your needs. Learn more about the portal by viewing
these demo videos, introducing the IBM Support Portal's capabilities
and key features:

Using
the IBM Support Portal This
video demonstrates how to get started using the IBM Support Portal
and explores some of the resources you might use when troubleshooting
a problem. View
video

More
Troubleshooting Resources In
this video, you learn about additional troubleshooting resources
available in the portal such as forums and recommended fixes. View
video

Additional
Resources This
video describes additional features of the IBM Support portal
including News and Alerts, Notifications, and opening a Service
Request with IBM Support. It also shows you how to manage your
product list to focus the portal and make the information you need
easier to find. View
video

Personalizing
your IBM Support Portal. Learn
how easy and simple it is to personalize your portal page to reflect
the way you work. View
video.

Since
the portal is a key part of our efforts to improve your online
support experience, we're anxious to know if we're on the right
track. You can submit feedback via the Feedback link in the portal,
sending a note to spe@us.ibm.com, or by posting a comment here.

What
you have to say will influence Release 3, Release 4, and beyond --
making the IBM Support Portal New! and Improved! every step of the
way.